The Ice Fox of Kiri
by The Pyroman
Summary: The mysterious disappearance of Haku and Zabuza's bodies on the bridge sets Naruto on a new path, one that questions just how loyal to Konoha he really is, and one awakens a new power inside of him that will make the Elemental Nations tremble at his sight.
1. See you after the war!

It was finally over. The battle for the bridge was done, and in a few weeks' time, the bridge would be finished to allow the Land of Waves to be connected to the other elemental countries. Naruto sighed in exhaustion as he fell to the ground. Sakura and Kakashi were doing a damage report to see what or who had been damaged during the fight. Sasuke was simply taking the time to think and brood lightly as he usually did, which Naruto didn't see why, as reporting the damage was much more important. Naruto had an excuse to fall down and take a break, though, as even this early in the day; it had been an exhausting one.

_Naruto recalled how he came late into the scene, where Sasuke was stuck in an icy dome of mirrors, and Kakashi was battling Zabuza. He was able to do some damage to Haku outside of the mirrors, but he made the mistake of rushing into the dome to help Sasuke. For the smallest moment, though, he had gone into one of the mirrors much like Haku did, and for that small moment, Haku didn't have any access to one of the mirrors. For that small moment, Haku was significantly more vulnerable than before._

Naruto then turned his head to the side, looking at the spot where Zabuza and Haku had been placed down at to die. He couldn't help but wonder what happened to them, but he was sure that they were alive.

_Naruto was engulfed by rage, and had begun to draw power from the Kyūbi's chakra. He was so enraged by Sasuke's apparent death that the demon inside got the better of him, feeding off of his negative emotions and reshaping them into evil chakra. In the demonic form, he was strong enough and fast enough to attack Haku. He lunged at one of the mirrors and hit the masked figure with everything he had inside of him. Doing this caused all of the ice mirrors to break, thus releasing them from their prison. Haku was hit so hard that it took him a moment to get up, and when he did, his mask broke, revealing his face to Naruto._

_Naruto couldn't believe that the pure and kind-hearted person he had met in the woods was the person that he was fighting now. He couldn't understand it, and stopped using the Kyūbi's chakra. All he could manage to do was lightly punch Haku in the face, not wanting to fight him anymore. Haku could not understand this. Naruto had proven to everybody that he was stronger than Haku, but he was not willing to end the fight. Haku pleaded almost endlessly for the blonde boy to end his life, and for some time, Naruto resisted before finally giving in. In this time, Kakashi defeated Zabuza, and was about to end his life. Before Naruto could finish the job, Haku sped off to protect his master. Unfortunately, Haku was not fast enough to fully absorb the attack, and Kakashi's lightning infused hand was partially in Haku's side. Haku had said a few short words before dropping to the ground, no longer strong enough to stand on his own. _

_Soon after, Gato made his presence known by laughing at Haku's demise, and even went as far as dubbing him a woman to rile everyone up even more. Zabuza changed sides at the last minute and helped team seven kill Gato and his men with the last of his strength. After it was all done, Zabuza requested to be set down next to Haku, to spend his last moments with his most precious person._

Slowly, Naruto rose to his feet and looked down at the message written in the pool of blood that accumulated between the two missing-nin. Naruto looked at it curiously and read it aloud.

"See you after the war…" Naruto said quietly to himself as he looked at the spot Zabuza's giant sword had been at. He could only take guesses at what happened to the two and the sword.

"Hey, Naruto," The voice of his sensei brought him out of his thoughts on the two ninja. "Damage is assessed, and everyone's agreed to just take a break for the day. They'll get back to working on the bridge tomorrow, so let's head back to Tazuna's house and relax for the rest of the day."

Both Sasuke and Sakura picked up on Kakashi's words, thinking about what he had said. Sakura didn't seem to mind it at all, and Sasuke was rather neutral about the decision. Of course he wanted to train and become stronger, but even he had to admit that it had been a long morning that deserved rest.

With everyone agreeing, Team Seven, Tazuna, Inari, and Tsunami all headed back to the home of the Master Bridge Builder, and probably soon to be Mayor, if not new leader, of Wave Country.

Getting back to the house, Naruto still thought about the Demon of the Hidden Mist and the Ice Master. He wondered where they went off to, and how they could have possibly escaped. Both of them were too tired to move, and they were most likely going to die lying down next to each other.

As he lay down on his bedroll, he looked up at the ceiling and attempted to remember as much as he could about the past week. The first thing he had thought of was his meeting with Haku.

_Naruto lay on the ground as he got his rest. Because of Inari, Naruto was angered beyond belief, and decided to leave Tazuna's house to train. He trained himself to exhaustion that night, and he could feel the soreness of his body when he woke up the next morning because of a sudden sound. The sound turned out to be a lovely woman who had dubbed herself Haku. Naruto shared his name as well, and the two talked for a short moment before Haku finally left, telling the blonde that she was actually a man, his had surprised Naruto, and got the demon fox inside of him to cackle like a man._

_Naruto still couldn't believe that Haku was the masked hunter-nin that saved Zabuza. He could also not believe that Haku was a man, and why the Kyūbi laughed uncontrollably whenever Naruto thought about Haku being a man._

_The boy then thought back on the most recent battle before Gato and his men showed up._

_Naruto had just punched Haku out of the icy dome and onto the ground. Apparently, he had hit him so hard that it took the hunter-nin a moment to get back to his feet. Once he did, Naruto charged at him, but stopped as the porcelain mask cracked in two and fell to the ground. Naruto was able to see Haku's face again, and the violent chakra that shrouded him dissipated into the air._

"_Haku?" Naruto, asked his voice only above a whisper. _

_Haku said nothing, his deep brown eyes staring at the fist that was only inches away from his face with a blank expression. While he said nothing, Naruto knew that he was the same person he saw in the woods several nights ago._

"_You're with Zabuza?" Naruto didn't know what to say. Haku was one of the kindest people he had ever met, and he was working alongside the enemy._

_Haku shook his head and turned slightly to look into Naruto's eyes. "I used to." He told Naruto. "I'm useless to him now. Dead weight."_

_Naruto still wasn't sure what to say to him. "What do you mean?" He asked In response._

"_I'm a broken tool now. I've been bested in battle after giving it my all. Zabuza-sama has no use for broken tools."_

_Something in Naruto clicked as he remembered what Haku had said to him in the forest about protecting your precious people no matter the cost. "He's your precious person? But he's the enemy!"_

_Haku suddenly became stern as he locked eyes with Naruto with ferocity. "He may be the enemy to you, but he saved me. I am in indebted to him." Haku told Naruto, getting him to retract his fist. _

"_Civil wars are common in Kirigakure because of Kekkei Genkai users like myself. We're known to be harbingers of war, and are feared because of our power. My own father killed my mother because she had Hyoton as well. He almost killed me as well. I managed to escape, but I went hungry for several days; then Zabuza-sama found me. He took me in and trained me to become his tool, to be there for whatever he needed. I owe him my life and so much more, and I failed at the one thing he needed of me." He then looked at Naruto with a serious expression. "You must kill me."_

"_W-what?" Naruto faltered. He couldn't understand why he wanted for him to kill him._

"_You were the one who broke my demonic ice mirrors, my strongest attack. You must be the one to kill me."_

_It went on like this for several minutes. They argued about Haku's fate, with each of them saying the same things over and over like broken records. Finally, Naruto relented, though he did not want to kill Haku. Just before he could finish the job, Haku dashed off to protect his master once more by shielding him from Kakashi's Raikiri. However, he wasn't fast enough to completely take the blow. Kakashi ended up having half of his hand jammed in Haku's side, then the boy fell to the ground after a few words to Zabuza, who regretted making Haku the way he was._

_The scene was interrupted by Gato, who appeared with all of his men. He went on and gloated about how he was always planning on cutting Zabuza out of the deal after the Konoha ninja were dealt with. He had even joked about Haku being a woman to get his men riled about killing Zabuza and the others._

_For the moment, Zabuza and Kakashi agreed on a truce, just in time to see Inari and Tsunami with several men from the village, all ready to fight Gato's men._

_Then, Zabuza went on a killing spree, ending the lives of as many of the mercenaries as possible before killing Gato himself. When it was all said and done, Zabuza fell down and was dragged over to Haku. _

_Everyone let Zabuza say what he had to say, and watched as it began to snow all around them. They all knew now that Zabuza had regrets for raising Haku like he did, and wished that Haku would accept his apology in the next world._

Then they had disappeared, as Naruto remembered, and he and the rest of team seven went back to Tazuna's house for food, rest, and relaxation for the rest of the day. Not to mention celebrating the death of Gato.

As Naruto thought about it all, he began to drift into unconsciousness, and eventually fell asleep. He dreamed of thinking of a way to save Haku and Zabuza, even though they had been enemies for the past week. Haku was such a sweet and kind boy who was willing to do whatever it took to protect the people most important to him, and Naruto truly felt bad for not thinking of another way out.

Suddenly, Naruto woke up in the middle of the night because of something he had heard. When he sat up and looked around, he saw that the window to his room was open, and a note pinned to the ground by several senbon needles was just beside his head. While he was alarmed because of the closeness, he made sure to keep quiet as he read the note.

"Join Kiri's rebellion. They'll appreciate you more than anyone in your pathetic village seems to." Was what he had read from the note. There was no name on it, and Naruto did not recognize the handwriting, as it was rather messy and rushed, and he didn't think that he knew anyone who spoke or thought like that. The senbon that came with the note made him think though, and connected a few dots in his head.

Still, He was just about dead when Naruto last saw him, so he wasn't sure how he was able to recover as quickly as Naruto could.

Looking around and listening, Naruto made sure that everyone was still asleep before putting the note in his pocket, hiding the senbon with his equipment, and peeking out through the window before laying back down and sleeping.

The next week went by fast, with Kakashi suddenly wanting to train his students more, and team seven helping with the building of the bridge. With the new enthusiasm of the building team, as well as the large additions of people who now wanted to help because Gato was no longer a problem, the bridge had finished much faster than anyone had originally expected.

When the final day of building came along, Naruto and the rest of his team had been given permission to do as they pleased for the day, to allow the people of wave to finish up the bridge. While Naruto wanted to help finish it, he was glad that he could help out all of these people. For the past week, they had been happier than ever. They had thanked and congratulated Naruto and the team for all they had done, and even began to prepare a celebration for when the bridge was finally done.

Currently, the three genin of team seven were walking through the streets of wave, taking in the much happier scenery.

"Ne, Sakura-chan." Naruto stated, looking to his crush that was on the other side of Sasuke. "Do you maybe want to go to this festival thing when the bridge is done?" He asked her both with curiosity and quickly dying hope.

Sakura didn't hesitate to shake her head and respond with her usual response. "Of course not! I'm going to be going with Sasuke-kun! You should have known that, Naruto-baka!" She verbally berated him, getting the blonde boy to sigh as he moved onto other thoughts.

Suddenly, the cycloptic sensei of the genin appeared before them, getting them to stop walking and look at him with curiosity, or neutrality in Sasuke's case.

"What's up Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, getting Sakura to nod in agreement to what he had said. She believed there was no use saying anything after one of the three of them spoke, so nodding would state that she was also interested.

"The bridge is just about done, and everyone is going to get together for the grand opening." Kakashi told them, getting Naruto to jump in excitement, and Sakure to squeal in delight.

"Yes! That means the festival will happen tonight, and Sasuke-kun and I can have a perfect and romantic evening, all sealed at the end of the night with a romantic kiss!" Sakura fantasized, causing Naruto to glare at Sasuke. Sasuke simply didn't care, and was glad that they were finally going to leave the worthless village and country.

"Yeah." Kakashi replied offhandedly. Honestly, he didn't see the chances of Sasuke coming around to liking Sakura, but in a world with magical monsters made out of energy, and people who could call upon the elements, maybe the loner of the class would get with the fan girl. "So anyway. Let's get going." Kakashi told his team, walking back to the bridge at a slow and lazy pace. The genin quickly caught up with their jonin sensei, and gathered at the now finished bridge.

Tazuna, Tsunami, and Inari all stood on a decently sized platform, overlooking all of the workers and people of the village of the Land of Waves. When Naruto and the rest of the team showed up, the master bridge builder and his family took notice of them and smiled.

"Ladies and gentlemen, these are the ninja that made all of this possible!" Tazuna announced, causing the crowd to look around and split into two sections, allowing team seven to get to the platform.

Naruto smiles confidently as he walked with his team, and turned to face everyone once they reached Tazuna and his family.

Tazuna cleared his throat before talking to the crowd.

"People of wave. Ever since Gato and his men showed up in our village, we have seen nothing but poverty and misfortune. Life hasn't been easy for us, and I do believe that I'm speaking for everyone when I say that I feared that I might not wake up the next morning. But still, despite all of this, we made things work, we got started on the bridge, and now we finished it. After all this time, and all of the trouble we went through, we finished the thing that would reunite the people of Wave with the rest of the elemental nations, and it's all thanks to this boy right here." Tazuna then grabbed Naruto by the shoulder and pulled him close, much to Naruto's surprize and embarrassment.

"This boy right here was the one who decided to keep on protecting me and finish the mission, even though I lied to their Hokage about the mission details. He was the one who convinced that sword wielding man to kill Gato, and he was the one who showed my grandson the truth about heroes. Now, I'm absolutely sure that I'm speaking for everyone here when I say that we wouldn't be here without this boy. Because of his actions, I am proud to announce that the Wave Festival of Hope will be celebrated in his honor, with Naruto Uzumaki as the Hero of Wave. Now, without further ado, I announce the Great Naruto Bridge, open!" He called out, getting everyone to cheer for the bridge and for Naruto.

Naruto wasn't sure what to say. He was left speechless and blushing slightly. He had never been talked about so greatly before, and he was unable to say or do anything in response. His teammates were just as surprised as he was, but were handling the surprise much differently than he was.

Sasuke simply glared at Naruto, slightly angered that he was hardly talked about at all, and his name wasn't even mentioned.

Sakura was surprised that Naruto was the main focus of the speech, but even she had to agree that he had worked hard during the mission and deserved some credit. Of course she was a little mad that Sasuke wasn't mentioned all that much, but she was otherwise happy, but she would never show it, after all, they were praising the class idiot.

As the day passed, people got more and more ready for the upcoming festival. It was supposed to start just after lunch, but was held back by Tazuna, who had a brief fight with Tsunami because he already wanted to start drinking in celebration. Instead the festival started at around three in the afternoon, but nobody really cared about the delay since it unofficially started when it was actually supposed to.

Naruto had a pretty good day with the festival, then again, it was his first time going to a festival where he wasn't being hunted or stabbed, attacked, or harmed. He truly felt appreciated by the people around him, many of them wearing masks of all sorts and variations. Naruto believed that the reason for the masks was because a person could look beautiful, but have an ugly personality, and vice versa. He wasn't as happy as he could be, though, as Sakura spent all of her time dragging Sasuke to each and every halfway decent spot she found, trying to get him to open up to her as she had wanted him to.

Naruto still had a decent time, though, despite not being with his crush. The people were nice to him, and offered him many treats and items out of thankfulness. They had even given him his own festival mask, but he had decided not to wear it.

As the day passed, nightfall quickly took over the village in the Land of Waves. However, it didn't stop the people from celebrating. Everyone turned on their lights and lit up their candles, all prepared to party till dawn.

Sometime well into the celebration, Naruto was walking through the crowd of masked faces before feeling someone grabbing his shoulder. Quickly, the boy turned around and looked at the person behind him. Like most to all of the other people in the festival, this woman wore a mask, hers designed with swirling blue tides, all in an icy blue color. The woman also wore a pale blue kimono, and seemed to have all of her hair pulled back. She was a fair bit taller than Naruto was, probably having a few years on him as well.

"Hello. I just wanted to thank you for all you've done for me and the people here." She said to him, her voice sweet and melodic to his ears as he listened.

Naruto smiled and looked at the mask of the woman, blushing from the thoughts of what the woman with such a beautiful voice looked like without the mask. "I-I was just trying to help. If it wasn't for Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke-teme, we wouldn't have been at the bridge with that Zabuza guy on our side." He told her modestly.

The woman didn't show any signs of movement, but laughed lightly. "As with any tale, I'm sure there's more to it.." She said back to him, pausing for a moment before speaking again. "Teme? Is that what you call your teammate, the one who was dragged around by that talkative pink haired girl?"

Naruto nodded with a sigh. "Yeah, that's him. Though I wish she was dragging me around instead…" He muttered the second part to himself, but not quietly enough for the woman to not hear him.

"Why? He didn't seem to be having a good time in the least, with the girl talking his ear off about something in relation to destiny and love. Can you explain why you're in love with her? Do you think she could love you in the same way she appears to love him?" She asked him these questions, making the boy think heavily on his life choices up to this point.

He knew his chances were slim, but it had never stopped him from doing something. He had fought and fought all his life, and he continued to battle against the odds of things. He assured himself several times that he would eventually win her over and prove that Sasuke wanted nothing to do with her, but now he doubted it.

While he was thinking, he did not see the masked woman move her mask up, allowing for the bottom half of her face to be seen. Slowly, she bent down to Naruto and placed her lips over his. It was a short kiss, but seemed to last much longer than the few seconds that it actually did.

As soon as her lips came in contract with his, Naruto's brain began to restart. He wasn't used to all of this affection and good treatment, so he was already put off a little bit, but the kiss had sent his brain haywaire, forcing him to take time to reboot.

In the time that it took for Naruto's brain to restart, the woman had already pulled her mask back down and begun to walk away. When he had looked around and found her, she was being escorted away by a rather tall man in a similar pale blue outfit. Before Naruto could get to them and talk to them more, they had disappeared into the crowd.

"Wha… Where'd she go?" Naruto continued to look around for her for the rest of the night, but was unable to find the woman that had asked him important questions about his choices in life, causing him to revaluate what he wanted out of life. As he looked around, a heavy blush could be seen on his face. He wasn't bothered at all that the woman had kissed him. After all, he had already considered himself ruined after Sasuke had gone up and kissed him in front of everyone when they first became genin. Of course Sasuke would do something like that in an effort to keep the weaker kunoichi-in-training away, but he didn't have to use Naruto to do it!

While Naruto continued to look for the woman, he found out that it was becoming more and more unlikely with each passing minute into the early morning, and eventually decided to head back to Tazuna's house, not taking note of the small piece of paper that had been tucked into his pocket earlier that night.

The day after the festival was mainly comprised of helping the village clean up everything, despite Tazuna saying that it wasn't needed since they were already so indebted to Naruto and his team. Even with Tazuna saying that they had the situation handled, team seven still decided to help out anyway, waiting until the next day to head back to Konoha.

Naruto had yet to change his clothes, as he had spent all of his time trying to find a woman that his team didn't believe existed.

"I'm telling you she pulled me away from the crowd and kissed me!" Naruto said seriously.

Sakura shook her head with a half smirk. "Oh really now? If you believe that this obviously fake person came up and kissed you and talked good about you instead of Sasuke-kun, where's your proof?" She asked him, wanting to make him admit defeat and that this was all some stupid ploy to get them to like him more.

Naruto searched himself. He knew he probably wasn't going to find anything, but he needed just the smallest thing to prove to them that it actually happened. As he searched himself, a small scrap of paper fell out of his pants pocket and down to the ground.

Naruto saw it just as it landed, and picked it up to inspect it.

"_Naruto-kun. The Mountain Hot Spring Inn is a nice place in Kiri. You should go there and relax sometime."_ He read to his team, though they still refused to believe that it happened.

When the moment finally came for Naruto and everyone to head back to their home village, many teary and goodbyes were made, mainly between Inari and Naruto, in which the former was seeing the latter as a brother figure and didn't want him to leave. Unfortunately, team seven eventually had to leave, and went back home to turn in the mission.

The team was able to turn in the mission and get increased pay due to the raise in difficulty and complexity of the mission, not to mention all of the bounties on Gato's head being shared among Naruto and Sakura, as it was only Kakashi's duty to watch over and supervise their missions, and Sasuke had the entire Uchiha fortune to himself.

For the next week, it was back to simple D-ranked missions for team seven. Nothing much happened in that time, but Naruto still continued to wonder about the two disappearing and presumed dead ninja.

As the time passed, Naruto continued to go over everything that he had seen that day during the battle on the bridge, and absolutely nothing he saw helped him in any way. One moment they were there, and another moment, they were gone with a note written using the pooled blood.

Naruto lay in bed, staring at the ceiling of his room as he continued to review every little detail. Suddenly, it had appeared in his mind that Zabuza and Haku were far too weak to do something like that on their own, and couldn't have written that message in the time allotted. Somebody must have taken them away from the scene. Another idea appeared in his mind. He remembered how those two ninja with the crazy gauntlets, were able to hide and move through water and puddles of water, so he wondered why would that not extend to blood, which was a liquid as well.

Just as he thought about the demon brothers, two figures appeared in Naruto's room, standing at the end of Naruto's bed.

Naruto jumped up in fear and reached around for a kunai. Before he was able to, a steel hand reached out and grabbed a hold of him.

"Keep quiet." One of the voices demanded quietly.

Naruto nodded quickly and tried to look for a way out.

The man that held Naruto above his bed looked over his shoulder and at the other figure. "It was misplaced." The other voice said, getting the first person to nod.

It was too dark in Naruto's room to identify either of the figures, but he knew that he had no idea who they were. Their voices were raspy and gravely, obviously underused.

"Doesn't matter. He's coming." The first person holding Naruto said, getting the other to nod before the first let go of Naruto and allowed him to fall onto his bed.

"Who are you and where am I going?" He asked them, getting into a weak defensive stance. "I'm not going anywhere; I'm going to be the Hokage!"

One of them seemed to chuckle or laugh, but sounded more like someone clearing their throat. The other one did as well, and they both looked at the boy, their eyesight being much better than his.

"They don't care about you. They won't care when you're gone." The one who was previously holding Naruto said.

The second one nodded slightly. "Pathetic. All of them."

Naruto's eyes widened as he thought about the word. Dots were beginning to connect as he thought, and eventually turned on the lights in his room to prove his suspicions.

As he turned on the lights, the two figures could be identified as the Demon Brothers themselves, with their long and wild hair, their large gauntlets, and the horns on their headbands.

"What are you guys doing here?! Now that I know what you can do, I can beat you!" Naruto said confidently, already preparing to spawn clones.

"Shut up and come with us. You're needed." Meizu, the one with two horns said.

"Needed where?" Naruto asked.

Gozu, the other one, answered. "Kiri. You should be smart enough to read. There's a civil war."

Naruto began to connect more and more dots together. Haku had said something about a civil war, and the note left in his and Zabuza's absence said something about a rebellion. He was led to assume that they were one in the same. "That thing Haku was talking about?"

They nodded, not bothering to speak.

Naruto thought about it long and hard. The more he thought about it, the more it was beginning sound like a good idea. They would appreciate his help in this civil war, and he was sure that they wouldn't hate him likethe majority of Konoha did.

After what seemed like a full hour of thinking, but was only several minutes in reality, Naruto nodded, but quickly fell to the ground as somebody gave him a strong hit to the back to the skull. Naruto fell over, but the figure behind him caught him and put him back on his bed.

"I don't know what the hell you're doing, but you aren't going to wash Naruto's mind and take him somewhere…" The person spoke. The voice was obviously feminine, but not the same feminine voice that the demon brothers were used to hearing. This one was strong, cocky, and almost mad in a sense.

"Kiri needs him more than you do." Gozu answered, looking at the woman. Her entire set of clothes stood out to them, with her wire mesh undershirt, a skin colored shirt under the mesh armoring, a short orange skirt, metal shin guards, and a tan trench coat.

"Oh really now? You better explain yourselves before I kill the both of you." She threatened, getting them to look at her.

They were silent for a moment, sharing glances and almost speaking from mind to mind. Anko was sure they couldn't actually do that, though, and just assured herself that they knew each other well enough to pick up on the smallest of things.

"Your village hates him. He has no reason to stay here. When the rebellion in Kiri takes over, he'll be treated as a hero, as a human being, and will get proper treatment. That will never happen here." One of them explained. Since their mouths were covered, and neither of them moved as they spoke, she was unsure which one was speaking, or if they were taking turns talking.

"This rebellion. You're taking out the Mizukage of the bloody mist?" Anko asked, now rather interested in the situation.

Meizu nodded. "They want me and my brother to help, and they want Naruto to help as well."

"They? They who?" Anko inquired further.

"Allies." Was what they said simultaneously, knowing what to say and what not to say because of a briefing the week before. "The rebellion." They said together once again.

Anko became quiet for a moment, thinking over the situation and how it could play out. They were certainly right with the majority of the village not wanting Naruto, and Kiri most likely treating him like one of the Kage if he plays a big part in the movement.

In an instant, Anko disappeared in a puff of smoke, causing Gozu and Meizu to wait around for other ninja to appear, but a minute later, she returned with several sealing scrolls, and tossed some to the Demon Brothers. They simply looked at her, expecting her to tell them what she was thinking.

"Come on. His house won't seal itself. I've already prepared for something like this, so I'm all set!" She told them with a smirk, causing them to share a glance before sealing everything up.

They'd simply have to tell their boss them that a person decided to come along.

They weren't sure what Naruto wanted to keep and what he didn't want, so they simply sealed up absolutely everything, leaving his house blank and empty like a property waiting to be moved into. With the three of them packing up everything as quickly as possible, they finished sealing everything in record time. There was one thing that wasn't sealed, though, and that was a scroll that Anko had found under Naruto's pillow.

When Anko went to inspect its contents, she was surprised to see that it was filled with jutsu, many of them believed by her to be powerful and able to decide the victor of a battle. Almost all of them were new to her except one, which she had learned from her traitor of a sensei. She knew the handsigns to it by heart, and only needed to do a single handsign for it, now. Despite all this, she was only able to make two or three of the unstoppable shadow clones at a time.

She could only assume what all of these advanced and dangerous jutsu were, and stuffed the scroll into Naruto's pocket before making sure that everything was ready. When she looked around at the bare room, Anko picked Naruto up and looked at the Demon Brothers.

"Alright, let's go!" She said to them with a smile, getting them to look at each other once more before leaping out the window, Anko tailing behind them with the boy.

The three conscious ninja quickly escaped the village without any trouble. It was rather odd for Gozu and Meizu to go through a ninja village of all places and not really need to worry about being caught. In their entire week at Konoha, they had not once run into any ninja at all, and they believed that the village was even worse than they had thought before as a result of this.

They ran for hours, quickly making their way to the coast in order to get to where they needed to be. They had only stopped because they needed a quick break from all of the running, and since the sun was rising it was probably a good time to go and get some food.

Anko, Gozu, and Meizu all sat down by the fire with their food, extra fish from a nearby stream cooking above the flames. Naruto continued to rest rather peacefully, completely unaware that he would not be in Hi No Kuni for much longer.

"So…" Anko said as she bit down on a fish. "The Demon Brothers of Kirigakure. Always assumed you'd be working for the Mizukage, not against the crazy bastard."

Meizu and Gozu said nothing, but both looked at Anko as she ate. They had already eaten by themselves while Anko watched over Naruto, ensuring that nobody would see their technique of eating through their masks.

"So what? You guys working for money? A debt?" Anko listed off possible options, but they still said nothing. Of course they wouldn't say anything to her now. Despite them not saying anything, she had figured out their answer because of what they had said before. They were connected to all of this because of allies, which meant that they would probably get out of being missing-nin if they helped kill the mad Mizukage. That was probably why a lot of dangerous people were fighting as rebels, the opportunity to be claimed as members of a renewed Kiri for helping to restore the balance, and so there by, earn their place when they beat the Mizukage.

Soon after, the group of four covered their tracks before taking off again. They simply followed the stream to the ocean, where they had to find transportation to Mizu no Kuni. It didn't take them long to find a boat, and quickly set off.

Naruto woke up on the ship several hours later, but was unresponsive to the people around him. Instead of talking to them and asking questions, he simply looked at the passing water, not bothering to make a single sound. This worried Anko, and took the Demon Brothers by surprise. They were aware of how loud and cocky the boy usually was, and now he wasn't anything like his usual self. He went back to sleep soon before they hit land, and Anko was forced to carry him again as she followed the Demon Brothers.

When they stopped, the approached a lonesome inn and hotel combination, it was all by itself, surrounded by the mist and trees; it bore a sign declaring it to be The Mountain Hot Spring Inn. It had probably been named for the natural hot springs it had which were heated by the mountain behind it.

"We're here." One of the Demon Brothers said to Anko, not bothering to stop as they headed inside.

Inside the inn was a small lobby with a sign at the counter, saying that a new person who was to take over the counter would arrive shortly. However, the people that frequented the inn knew that the sign always stayed there, and would probably never leave that exact spot.

Gozu and Meizu led Anko down a hallway, walking toward a room at the far end of the hall. When they got there, they opened the door to reveal a staircase. The Demon Brothers then began to walk down it to get to where they needed to be. While they weren't sure what exactly would be said to them for having another person come along, one who was definitely not in the plan originally, they knew well that someone wouldn't be happy as a result of this change in plans.

At the bottom of the staircase was a room about as big as the lobby, with a table and chairs at the center of the room. There were small desks all along the walls of the basement, filled with scrolls, ninja weapons, and all sorts of other things.

At the table sat three figures. The one at the head of the table had long auburn hair, and a single exposed green eye. She was dressed rather provocatively, not much unlike Anko was, just with different clothes of course, but an aura of power and strength originated from her.

Beside her was a masked figure, wearing a mask that Naruto would have recognized, had he been awake at that moment. The pale blue kimono was the same as well, and looked just as it did when she had worn it when he saw her during the festival.

On the other side of the auburn haired woman was a rather tall man with spiky black hair and a mask covering the bottom half of his face. It wasn't unlike Kakashi's, but was a plain grey instead of dark blue or black. He wore a pale blue suit similar to the ninja with the mask, and had a large broadsword strapped on his back.

The person with the mask was first to speak, obviously focusing on the presence of Anko. "Who is she, and why is she here?" The person asked Gozu and Meizu in an ambiguous voice, but there was obvious power in their words.

Anko looked at the masked person, detecting a hint of something that gave off the feeling of concern. One who seemed to have concerns for Naruto. Looking at the masked person, Anko grinned, "Anko Mitarashi, former Snake Mistress of Konoha and a ranking worker in the T&I Division. Not to mention the sexiest kunoichi in the land." she said, giving a bow as she made her speech. She made it obvious that she was trying to be funny, and didn't want any harm to come to her, but there was also a serious undertone that told the people around her that she would do anything necessary to protect herself if her hand was pushed.

"Why is she here?" The masked person asked again to the Demon Brothers.

Meizu and Gozu traded a look before looking at the three figures at the table. "She insisted on coming. Doesn't seem to be nearly as pathetic as the others in that stupid village. She even helped us escape." They answered, knowing that while it would be enough, the masked person would still not be fully happy.

"Hmm." The one with the sword hummed in thought. "Why's he asleep? He needs to be up for all of this."

"Don't worry about him for now." The one with the green eye spoke up, getting everyone to put their attention on her as she looked at Anko. "You weren't in the plan. Why'd you come all the way out here? I'm not saying I don't appreciate any extra hands, but I need to know your reasoning."

Anko smiled, and it wasn't snide, or hateful, or even one of arrogance or pride, it was a genuine smile. She then leaned forward and spoke with obvious sincerity, "Naruto here is like the little brother I always wanted, but never had. If he left Konoha, I'd follow after him. I've always had my stuff sealed up in storage scrolls in case of the need for a quick getaway, and in that event, I'd take him with me to a safer place." she paused and looked down at Naruto, "Like him, I was never really liked in Konoha. Other than him, all I had to tie me to it were about two other people, both of which having a closer relationship with me than Naruto did." she looked down at Naruto again, "Honestly, I thought he would use the Wave mission as his chance to get away from the village. First time out of the village and a perfect opportunity to get away." She told them, genuinely surprised he didn't use the Wave mission to do so.

The woman in the middle looked at Anko with a keen eye, before glancing at Naruto in her arms. She was quiet for a moment before looking back up at her. "I guess I can't convince you to leave. Not that I'd really try anyway." She muttered the second part. "So you're going to cut ties along with Naruto, then? Work for Kiri from now on?"

Anko smiled again, "Get me to leave Naruto?" she replied, beginning the grin now, "To answer that, how likely is it that you would get Iwa to bow down and declare Konoha as their overlords, and then kiss the elders wrinkly old asses?" she was now trying to hold back her laughter as she could see them picturing it in their minds, and trying not to at least smile at the amusing thought, "Besides, if Naruto joins Kiri, I am damn well going to join too so as to keep an eye on him, and use my talents and to protect him and help him grow," she paused as she took a slight breath for dramatic effect, "Not to mention," here she paused again, "I am sure you could use the talents of someone who is a master with interrogation, seduction, and poison and hallucinogen making, not to mention personally trained by the legendary interrogator Ibiki Morino." She flaunted her skills with a grin.

"We'll work on the formalities later, and I've only got one rather cheaply headband prepared since we only expected Naruto, but anyways, welcome to the Kirigakure Rebellion, and soon to be The New Kirigakure Ninja Corps. You and him will both get your official headbands when this is all over." She said with a smirk. "My name is Mei Terumi, and I'm the one leading the operation here. These two are friends of mine who have decided to come back for the cause, even if their last attempt on the Mizukage's life didn't end well."

When Mei finished talking, Naruto could be heard groaning, getting everyone to move their attention to him. Everyone watched with eagerness as he awoke, and he looked around with a confused expression, clearly not knowing where he was at the moment.

"Naruto?" The masked person asked. "Naruto, are you awake? Do you know where you are?"

Naruto was unresponsive as he looked around, wondering who the people around him were. His quietness was starting to unnerve people, and his reply told them all that there was a serious problem at hand.

"Who's Naruto?"

**Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of this story. This is the first full collaboration work between me and Ogremen, who has been by beta for one of my other stories, **_**Raising a Fox**_**. So, he deserves the same amount of credit as I do for this story and its creation.**

**This was an interesting idea that we came up with during the breaks between the **_**Raising a Fox**_** chapters, and as a good way to keep ourselves from getting burned out by the idea, we've decided to write this one alongside it. I hope nothing seems rushed or forced in this chapter, but if it does, please let me and Ogre know.**

**I love reading reviews and seeing what you all have to say, even if it's something as simple as 'good job!', it will make me smile and want to work on the next chapter more to get it out faster and with better quality. I don't want this to sound like I'm only going to do the chapters if I get reviews, because that's definitely not what I'm trying to say here. It helps us to read reviews, and helps motivate us, but we're still going to keep on writing it until the end, even if it only has a single review.**

**So, until next time everyone!**


	2. Mei-Sama

"Damn it."

Mei cursed quietly with a twitching eyebrow as she looked at the boy in Anko's arms, his eyes deep blue and as naive as a new born. There was no more spark or burning desire, just curiosity and confusion.

"Ok, first things first. Why doesn't he know his own name?" Mei demanded, hoping someone had a good answer for her question.

"Eh... I think I can shed some light..." Anko smiled sheepishly and glanced down at Naruto before looking at the rebellion leader.

"Y'see... When the Demon brothers over there were about to take him away, I... kinda knocked him out so he wouldn't see what I was planning on doing to them." She told Mei, hoping that she would understand and not kick her and Naruto out of the one thing that could get them away from Konoha. "He woke up on the boat ride here, but was pretty much unresponsive; we didn't know that I knocked the memory out of him..." She laughed sheepishly, barely noticing the masked people shaking their heads at her.

Mei sighed, and rubbed the bridge of her nose, before looking at Anko, "Oh...kay. Let's try again." she said, "From what Oni and Yuki Onna here," she waved her hand, indicating the man with the sword and the other masked person next to him, both standing behind her, "Naruto here is a jinchūriki," she saw the look of surprise on Anko's face and motioned for silence, "Don't worry, I have nothing against them personally, much as I have reason to be, given the circumstances of this civil war. Hell, he could be the son of Kami himself, as long as he is respectful and knows who not to kill. If he's like that, then I'll be happy. But that's straying from the point. The people from his clan are well known for their healing powers and ability to take injuries and still keep going. How does someone like that end up with a loss of memory from a simple blow to the head?" she said, staring blankly at Anko over her clasped hands in front of her face.

Anko sighed and shook her head. "Not really sure. That Sakura girl on his team probably hits him harder than I do, so I'm surprised that something like this hasn't happened before."

As she attempted to explain what happened to Naruto, she didn't see or hear another person walk into the room. When she was done speaking, she saw a person standing a small distance behind Mei. He had pale blue hair that was pointed upwards, and had a small patch covering his right eye from view. Suddenly Anko's eyes widened as she realized something, "Actually, it might have been something I was trying to recreate and may have used without realizing it..." she said sheepishly, now knowing that she actually might have hit Naruto too hard when she had knocked him out.

Mei's eye twitched, "Please, this is trying my patience..." she said, refraining from hitting Ao, who was standing by the door behind her, out of irritation.

"A little thing called the strength of one hundred..." Anko explained further. "But for me and how much I've been trying it, it's more like strength of twenty five."

"Mei-sama. We should get going back to camp. We have news from one of the recon groups." Ao told his superior. "We need to abandon or hold off on all current arrangements to get back sooner."

Mei's eyebrow twitched violently as she stood from her seat. "Engagements..." she whispered to herself as she turned around and glared at her guard, "Ao. Shut up before I melt you…" She said in a dangerously cool tone of voice.

Ao said nothing as he simply looked at her, filled with a kind of fear that only she could instill to him. He knew what she was capable of and why she was the leader of the rebellion, and he did not want that kind of power directed at him with the rage of a woman behind it.

Anko coughed to clear her throat as she looked down at Naruto, who was still looking around with curiosity. "Should we get going now...?" She told everyone, getting Oni and Yuki Onna to nod.

Mei sighed and held a hand over her face, "Ao, we cannot go directly to one of the bases, we have to take them to a safe house first so that we can get Naruto here checked out to make sure everything is ok." She turned her head to look at Anko. "As for you, you're going to be on guard detail for Naruto, as well as watched by Oni and Yuki Onna here. They will keeping an eye on the two of you. You more than him. " She said, turning her head back at Ao to make it clear that he was to prepare to clear things out of the outpost they were currently in, "We will be heading to the Demon Rock safe house," she said, getting a look of shock from both Oni and Ao.

The outline of a half smirk could be seen from Oni's mask once the shock wore off, and he decided to speak up about the matter. "Mei-sama. I already made that place near impossible to get to, but that safe house is also in the Mizukage's territory. If his ninja don't kill us, the traps I made will."

Anko eyed Oni suspiciously, already having ideas of his identity. Oni caught onto this and put on a mask that was not unlike Yuki Onna's. This made Anko sigh and look at Mei. "So we're going to travel into enemy territory, into a base or safe house that is protected by traps that even this guy says are dangerous," she nodded her head in the direction of Oni as she referred to him. "Just to give Naruto a mental checkup? You don't have anyone like that at your main base camp or whatever?"

Mei grinned at Anko, "You say you were in T&I, yet you're forgetting a pretty important rule: never take the direct path anywhere." She then pointed at Naruto, "As for him, I highly doubt that that he ever received a proper medical checkup that wasn't in some way botched. As a result, were going to give him one, getting one done cause of the memory loss is just giving it another reason to get it done," she then looked at Oni, "I am sure that any trap you made would not stand up to my lava, Oni. After all, I'm sure then traps will melt at the sight of me like someone I know…" She said in a slightly sultry voice, giving him a suggestive wink.

Oni blushed heavily as he saw his leader winking at him. He was lucky that he had two masks on, or somebody would have seen how red his face currently was. He couldn't possibly deny the fact that she was a beautiful woman, or the fact that she was immensely powerful. Because of their history, she knew exactly which of his buttons did what.

Normally, Anko would have smirked at the implications of what the rebellion leader said, instead she simply huffed and looked at the red haired woman. "You didn't answer my question..." She muttered under her breath, taking note how Mei didn't even mention having a doctor of some sort at the main camp.

Mei shot Anko a wink, "Actually, I did. But then again, I didn't as well." She said before barking orders into a microphone in her ear causing the lights to brighten, and rebellion members to come in and sedate Naruto. Yuki Onna took Naruto from Anko's hands so that she could be sedated as well. She didn't truly understand the need to do so, but she was still an outsider, and knowing the route to a secret hideout for the rebels might not be something that she should know just yet. Once she was put to sleep, Oni picked her up and the group headed off, scattering and keeping a short distance from one another as to not seem like an actual group.

Two hours passed and Anko woke up to a slow start. As she looked around, she could tell that she was in a cave of some sort. Her back ached mildly, but despite this she forced herself to sit up and look around. She could see Yuki Onna, Mei, and Oni a little ways in front of her, but Ao and the Demon Brothers were nowhere to be seen.

Her vision was partially blurry, but she was still able to see Oni draw some blood, smear it on one of the walls of the cave, and use his titanic sword as if it were a big ass key in the wall. Before all of their eyes, one of the walls moved, revealing a passageway. Mei and Yuki Onna walked ahead of Oni, as he went back to pick up Anko. He was slightly surprised to see her awake already and shake her head when he offered to carry her. Instead, he helped her up and walked alongside her into the cave.

"So you know Naruto?" Oni spoke up, moving his head to look at Anko.

Anko sighed and nodded, "Yeah, known him since he was six, been looking out for him since then as his older sister. Of course, can't keep an eye on him all the time, so I don't know everything that has happened to him in Konoha. Still, I do the best I can. Sometimes that means beating up civilians and a few dumbass ninja who got more shit then brains," she said, grinning at the memories of some of the beat downs she had delivered over the years, "There are misadventures he's had that I don't know about, and I just hope none of them caused any lasting damage..." she said, a look of sadness spreading across her face, but changed as she came to a realization. "Wait, what about you? How do know Naruto? I'm pretty sure that Kiri doesn't have any spies." She inquired, looking at Oni questioningly.

"Kiri has a few spies in Konoha." Oni stated. "I'm not one of them, but I know who they are. Wife of one of the spies picked me up when I was a kid. I snapped during my exam test, never saw her, or them, again. Became Anbu, did assassin missions on the side and a good handful of bounties. I was in charge of one of the attempts on Yagura, the Mizukage's life. Failed, obviously, and took a break for a while."

Anko nodded and smiled, "Methinks that you may have said too much...Zabuza Momochi..." Anko said, grinning at 'Oni'.

"Damn." Oni said simply, refusing to take the anbu mask off as he looked away from her.

Anko grinned, "So, now I know how you really know Naruto, at least in part anyway," she then decided to ask something else, something she had always wanted to know, but never had the opportunity for it, "Despite being in T&I for quite a while, wrangling up and interrogation dozens of missing nin, there's one thing that always escaped me." She looked at Zabuza, "The Black Villages...they do exist, right?" she asked,

Zabuza laughed, a smile could be seen on his face if it wasn't hidden by his masks. "And you call yourself a T&I master." He mocked her. "Of course they exist. How do you think missing nin get around and escape as much as they do? How do you think the Daimyo keep their hands so clean?" He thought back on the Black Village of Water. "The one here is more finicky than others, though. I've been to several of the Black Villages, and none of them are like the one right here in the Land of Water. I'll tell you more later, though."

Anko smiled, "Maybe I might have to place some black market requests through you, since you're the one with the contacts and all..." Anko said mysteriously, as they made it to the main room of the underground base.

The masked man simply looked at her, but under his masks, he gave her a curious and slightly deadpan look. Once Anko and Zabuza joined Yuki Onna, Naruto, and Mei in the main room, Zabuza stepped in front of all of them and looked around. He could hear footsteps slowly getting louder, and he assumed that it was Ao and the Demon Brothers with the medics from the main camp. Zabuza pointed down one of the stone hallways, making everybody look down said hallway. "Infirmary is down that way. Onna knows where it is. I need to get some things, so I'll meet you there in a bit." He said before walking off down another hallway. Yuki Onna waited for the rest of the group to meet them before directing everyone down the hallway Zabuza was talking about and into the infirmary.

"Right in here." Yuki Onna said as she guided everyone into the room, setting Naruto down on one of the beds and moving away to let the doctors do what they had to do.

Mei looked at Naruto as she spoke to the doctors, "Full medical scan. Make sure it includes a mental check up to see if we can't retrieve at least some of his lost memories. Run a blood test if you can, sample it and hold onto it for when we take over Kiri. Be sure to make sure he's stable. If Konoha could produce a ninja like Orochimaru, then it's possible they can make another mad scientist like him." She issued the commands, the doctors nodding and getting to work.

Anko looked at Mei with a rather serious expression. Even after all these years, Orochimaru was always a sore subject for her. "I didn't think people from Kiri would be interested in the missing nin of Konoha, and what they do." Anko knew well that her former mentor was a heartless person that experimented on innocent people, as well as a man that was quite infamous throughout the nations, but she wanted to know how the rebellion leader knew as much as she did about him.

Mei, looking at Anko, shot her a glare, "Given that Kiri is known for making monsters, we tend to keep tabs on others who also make monsters. Some examples; Danzo, the War Hawk, Shimura, Orochimaru of the Densetsu no Sannin, and the elders of Konoha, Homura and Koharu, to name a few," she said, "And given what we know about the Kyuubi, and the 'Annual Fox Hunts' in Konoha from our informants, I think it would not be a stretch for some asshole doctor with low morals or no common sense to use Naruto here as a guinea pig for their inhuman experiments. Hence why I want to know if his body has been messed with. We don't have any files, but we know who he is and what he holds." she looked at Naruto, "If he really does have Uzumaki blood, then he'll be of even higher priority than he is now." she then grinned, but it was an ironic grin, one of cold humor that holds no real amusement, "You know, it's funny really, Konoha preaches about upholding history, but see how quick they are to forget the Uzumaki clan; the clan that helped them found so much of their village..."

"Konoha's full of hypocrites. Spout nonsense about 'the will of fire' and 'teamwork above all', but they'll be one of the first people to abandon you in a mission if it goes sour." Anko spat.

"I understand what you mean, Anko," Mei said, smiling a bit, "The Third Hokage is admirable, and his ideals are good, but most of that village has corrupted his and the first two Hokages teachings," Mei let out a snort, "It's ironic, they say respect their history, they really do, but if Naruto is an Uzumaki, then he's much more powerful, as well as connected, then anyone can believe. The Uzumaki branch from the Senju, so even if it's distant, he has relations to two out of the four Hokage. Three if my hunch about the future is right..." She then shot a look at Anko, "Alright, forget about politics for now, it's time to get to the heart of the matter before we can go to our main base..." Mei finished, as she looked at Anko with a critical eye.

Anko smirked cheekily, taking a glance at Naruto before redirecting her attention to Mei. "And what might that be?" She answered somewhat eagerly. Even in such a dire situation, she found a way to be as confident and cocky as ever.

Mei sighed, "Alright, let's cut the crap, we need to know why a master interrogator like you, would be willing to drop everything for your so-called surrogate brother here and come after him. While we know that life for him wasn't pleasant in Konoha due to our informants and their efforts to get information for us on stuff going on in Konoha, we want to hear it from you. Why would Naruto have such loyalty to a village like Konoha, yet at the same time have such resentment for them?" Mei told the younger woman, giving her a glare that threatened a fate worse than death if not answered truthfully.

Anko sighed and looked down at the ground for a moment before looking back up at Mei. "I can't tell you why. I have no idea why he's so loyal to the village that wants nothing but for his head to be put on a pike. I know he hates the village, he knows it too." She became quiet for a moment, thinking about Naruto. "Maybe it's because he thought that if he endured their hate long enough, proved to them that he was strong enough to take what they threw at him, they'd eventually accept him...?" She knew that the boy was like her, and she gave Mei an answer that she knew Naruto would have because they were so alike.

Mei sighed again, "Well, to be honest, that is just retarded, if anything, they would hate him more for trying to get stronger, and then there is what others would do to him, or might have done to him," she said.

Anko smiled sadly. "He's naive, innocent. Even with all the hate around him he's stunted to a point where he doesn't really understand their hate. It's stupid and ridiculous, but that's how it is." She paused once more, recalling some of the things he had told her, and what she had seen of him. "He isn't entirely like me. He doesn't understand that he isn't going to win their hearts like he wants to. He's made the best of his situation, though. I'm hated because of association. He's hated because people actually believe he is what he has sealed inside him, and nobody is going to look past that in Konoha."

"Then..." Mei started, planning the words in her head before speaking, "perhaps we should be asking why would he agree to come to Kiri then willingly with the Demon Brothers escorting him," she sighed, "If he is so loyal to Konoha, why leave willingly, why let himself be taken?"

Anko smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head. "Well... y'see... I kinda knocked him out before Naruto actually agreed... Me and the Demon Brothers sealed up everything he owns, he actually had a surprising amount of cash stored away though. He doesn't have a place there, even if he doesn't realize that." She explained, trying not to get Mei too angry with her for what she did.

Mei sighed, "Alright, fine, tell me, what kind of person he is...was. Personality, likes, dislikes, what he's like overall." Mei said, trying to get an idea of what kind of person Naruto was personality wise from someone who was apparently like a sister to him, and thus would know him best.

Anko nodded and did her best to recall Naruto's overall being. "He's loyal to a fault, for one. As I've said before, innocent, naive, also not the brightest tool in the shed. Can't really take a hint, and be pretty annoying at times, but his persistence is kind of admirable in a way. Even when he hits on that idiot pinkette, it's nice to see that he isn't the kind of guy to give up easily. But don't think that I accept of his idiotic attempts for her love. She's a cheerleader for the Uchiha kid. She rides the first class seat on that bandwagon, and tears down Naruto every chance she gets to make him out as an idiot." She shook her head, getting off track. "Naruto…" She reminded herself. "He loves training and butting heads with the Uchiha and Inuzuka brats. Probably one of the biggest ramen nuts in the elemental nations. Ironically enough, he idolizes the Yondaime Hokage; a testament to his naiveté, I guess. He loves that _kage bunshin no jutsu _of his, and uses it every chance he can. There's a lot more to him than that, but that's Naruto Uzumaki in a nutshell." Anko suddenly opened her eyes as she realized she missed something, "Oh, I almost forgot, he loves helping people who have been nice to him, or he feels deserve to be helped, from what he told me about the mission to Wave, he was very helpful to those he encountered there. It seems he appreciates those who are kind to him, and will defend those who can't defend themselves."

Mei nodded, "And as for you, I'm sure that there's more than just his well being that plays into you going along with him. Not everyone becomes a missing nin intentionally." She inquired.

Anko smirked at the thought of the little present that she had left behind at Naruto's house, meant specifically for the Hokage's eyes only. "Because as much as he wouldn't like to admit it, the gaki would be hopeless without me around to tell him which way is up. And besides, if the little somethin' somethin' I left behind gets to the Sandaime like it's supposed to, then being a missing nin will be only a distant thought."

Mei suppressed a groan at the obvious humor the woman before her was trying to pull off, "You know what I mean. You say he's like a brother to you, and with what you've told me, it seems like he sees you as a sister or someone to look up to. My questions right now are why and how?" she clarified.

"I think I've already given you some information about that." Anko started off on a serious note. "We're a lot alike. I don't need to say that stuff again, so I'll get down to it." She said offhandedly, still not taking the situation as serious as Mei would have liked or preferred.

"Six years ago, a month or so before his birthday. I was walking around, minding my own business at my favorite dango shack, and suddenly Naruto runs right through and ruins my food. I was pretty damn mad at the time, but the anger went away when I saw a bunch of people running after him with rust covered weapons and such. It all clicked in my head, and I followed them in the shadows. Unfortunately, I was being too slow, trying to surprise them and all, and Naruto was hurt pretty badly. I was able to run them off and get Naruto patched up. Since then, I stopped by regularly and became like a sister to him." She told Mei, giving her that basic rundown of everything that happened. "Also helps that he would pester me every time he saw me around the village," she adds, smiling happily, remembering the time he had inadvertently kept some more lecherous civilians away by pestering her, causing them to think that it might not be a good idea to mess with a fox and snake combo, even if the boy had no training.

Mei nodded, "So, basically, you were nice to him, and he treated you like one would treat most other people who could fall into the 'anyone' category, fair enough," suddenly a random member of the rebellion came up behind Anko and handed something to her, and looking at Anko's questioning look, waved to it, "It isn't a headband, being just a rebellion and all, but it'll notify people of your standing in this war, and let the other rebels know your with us."

Anko took a look at what had been given to her. It was a pure white porcelain mask with the Kirigakure logo on the center of the forehead. Anko smiled at how blank the mask was, meaning she could make it entirely hers, without ever being mistaken for someone else. "Thanks." She said as she looked up at Mei.

Mei nodded with a smile, "If he is an Uzumaki, then there are people here who would want him to stay. If he calls you his sister, then they'll want you to stay as well." she then patted Anko on the shoulder lightly, "Now, let's see about what the docs have come up with in regards to Naruto and his medical scans and other stuff," she said.

"Right." Anko nodded and followed Mei a short distance to where Naruto, the doctors, Yuki Onna, and now Zabuza were. He had apparently come in while the two were talking, and was holding a few items in his hands, one of them being a shattered mask.

One of the doctors walked up to Mei and bowed deeply before taking a glance at Naruto. "As far as we can tell, he's going to be alright. The amnesia seemed to have been more than just a hit to the head. Stress, deeply conflicting thoughts and emotions, pure uncertainty. We encountered the presence of foul chakra within him, but Oni-san and Yuki Onna-san explained the boy's status as a jailer for one of the Bijuu, which might have also had some influence on him and his memory loss. Physically, he's completely fine. No signs of damage or wear to anything. Mentally, though, he's showing small signs of progress, like when he vaguely recognized some of the items Oni-san showed to him, but he couldn't tell us anything about them, where they came from, or who had them originally. It's good news, since it tells us his memories aren't lost forever, but we can't be certain about when he'll get them back, or if he gets them all back. He's off and on right now, but he is responding rather well, all things considered."

Mei nodded but saw the doctor hadn't moved yet, "Was there anything else?" she asked, already fearing the answer from the way the doctor started to move their fingers nervously. The doctor nodded, "Yes. While we don't have much, we were able to compare the samples we took from him against samples from people in the rebellion. While he's already unique from the Bijuu inside of him, he's also confirmed to have Uzumaki blood, and a few things we didn't even think of seeing..." he paused, making Mei's eyebrow twitch as a result, "Just spit it out man!" she snapped. The doctor nodded and continued hesitantly, "We can't be sure of what exactly he has to add onto what I've just stated. We only know that there's more in store for him in the future..." he finished, trailing off at the end.

Mei blinked in confusion, "So, what? He has additional abilities or something?" she asked in confusion.

The doctor nodded, "Pretty much, yes. We don't know what they are, though we can say, someone has been messing with his DNA."

Mei sighed, "I assume that you are absolutely sure in what you've found?" She asked them, making sure that they weren't hiding anything from her.

The doctor nodded quickly. "I'm sure, Mei-sama. You may want to give him a chakra test among other things, as me and my colleagues have done all we can with the current amount of resources."

Mei waved the doctor off with a thank you and noticed Anko staring at her weirdly, "What?" she asked.

Anko blinked and shook her head, looking around the room. "Oh, nothing. You just seem really involved in all of this." She explained. "Shouldn't you be commanding a recon group or something, oh glorious rebellion leader?" She asked with a smirk.

Mei shot her a look of annoyance, "You can sure be a smart ass sometimes you know that, right?" she then sighed, and looked at the chart the doctor had given her, "He should be evening out in a few minutes, I think Yuki Onna is watching him at the mome-" she said only to be cut off by Anko as she was about to finish speaking.

"Yuki Onna. Who are they?" Anko asked rather suddenly, wondering who the masked ninja was since she already found out Zabuza's alias.

Mei sighed, "From what Oni has told me, Yuki Onna apparently knows Naruto. 'Might not know him as much as you do, but she knows him nonetheless and is actually the person who issued the command to bring him here to Mizu no Kuni." Zabuza had refused to tell her anything about Yuki Onna's identity simply saying that he had met them during his time away from Kiri. While she was aggravated about it, she didn't pry further into the specifics about who they were, after all, why question someone who was willing to help against a tyrant when they worked with someone like Zabuza.

Anko nodded and walked over to the bed where Naruto was. He had a blank expression as he looked up at the ceiling, and seemingly didn't notice the fully masked ninja standing at the end of the bed.

Yuki Onna had been standing at the foot of the bed since Naruto was placed there, watching over the boy and the doctors checking up on him. When Naruto woke up, she and Zabuza tried to see if he could remember anything. While he couldn't say anything specific about them, he did seem to know about them, and it was progress.

As Mei and Anko walked over to the bed, Yuki Onna turned her head to look at them, her face unable to be seen. "Oni-sama left briefly to put the items back in his personal room. Naruto is showing some progress, and is proving that he eventually will get his memories back."

Anko looked at Yuki Onna, "And where exactly is his personal room, as I would like to be nearby, after all, he is my brother, if not by blood, then by spirit and choice," she said, making it clear she would refuse to have her room placed anywhere other than near Naruto's room.

Yuki Onna shook her head. "You're mistaken. I meant Oni-sama's personal room. Oni-sama left to put away items that he believed Naruto would remember." She paused a moment before nodding. "Naruto will be sleeping in a room next to my own, which is set in between his room and Oni-sama's room. You can have the nearest room besides mine and Oni-sama's. It will be in another hallway." She said to Anko before turning her head to look at Mei. "Mei-sama. You will have the option of choosing your own room. Oni-sama built this place with the assistance of the Demon Brothers as a hideout near Kirigakure, so there are several rooms for you to use."

Mei grinned, making it obvious that she was planning something. "I will be sharing a room with Oni, of course." Her grin became lecherous, making it known she had plans for the masked man.

Yuki Onna blushed lightly under her mask, thankful that her mask was hiding her face. "I see." She said simply. The woman tried to think about what to change topic to, and nodded to herself after a minute. "We should be moving to the dining room. I don't believe any of us have eaten in a while. The Demon Brothers should be hunting for food for us to eat." She then escorted the two other women out of the room, not noticing that a blond haired boy was silently tailing them to also get some food.

As they walked through the stone halls, they encountered Zabuza walking through the halls as well. He no longer had the porcelain mask on, but still had the cloth covering over the bottom half of his face. He walked with the group, guiding them to the dining room. "Take seats anywhere you like." He told them. "The kid's going to take the head of the table." He added, making the others look around to see Naruto walking around quietly to the head of the table.

Anko frowned at him as he sat down. He was so unlike his normal self, and it made her feel like the civilians had finally started to get to him, even it if wasn't the case here. It made her feel like she failed in watching out for him. "Naruto..." She called out to him as she sat down to the left of him. "When this rebellion thing is all over, if you still don't have your memories back, we're going to work even harder than we are now to make sure you return to your old self."

Naruto just looked at them and shrugged. "Okay...I guess..." he told them blankly. He felt like her words should have had some importance to him, but his lack of memories and personality prevented him from connecting with anyone or anything properly right now.

The group had eaten and explained more to Naruto about whom he was and why he was there. While he was thankful for the help, he was still unable to really connect with them. As it got late, everyone decided to turn in for the night, with the exception of the Demon Brothers, who opted to keep watch around the hideout.

Later that night, Anko woke from her sleep. The curse seal on her neck often did that to her, and it had become all but annoying to her. Getting out of the bed she was given, she roamed the halls of Zabuza's base to ease her mind from the terrible dreams she had. As like real life, the dream Naruto had forgotten everything about himself as well, but had begun to treat her poorly and started to become the kind of person that she hated being around.

As she walked the halls, she ventured down the hallway that Zabuza, Yuki Onna, and Naruto were sleeping in, and decided to check up on the boy.

Opening his door, she saw the masked woman watching over Naruto at the foot of his bed, much like how she was when he was in the infirmary. Yuki Onna simply watched over him, her face still unable to be seen. Despite this, Anko could tell she was deep in thought, and decided to simply leave the room and wander a bit more before heading back to her room to sleep.

The next morning, Naruto woke up feeling a nearby presence. As he looked around, he found the masked woman from the day before sleeping next to him, thankfully fully clothed and at least a few good inches away from him. He remembered sleeping in the middle of the bed, so his current position on the side was explained easier because of her presence.

"Uh... Mask lady?" Naruto asked. He knew that he had heard the name the other masked person, the red-headed woman, and the purple haired woman used for the woman currently sleeping in his bed, but he was unable to remember it. Something Onna, he remembered.

Looking at her masked face, Naruto stared at Yuki Onna for several minutes before deciding to take off the mask to see what the person underneath it looked like.

Slowly, Naruto gently grabbed the mask and began to gently pull it off, but was stopped as a hand suddenly grabbed his arm, making him yelp in surprise and jump back a little.

Yuki Onna turned her head to look at Naruto, and while unable to see her eyes, he was able to feel the icy cold glare that she shot at him. Thankfully, she stopped glaring at him and let go of his hand before sitting up. The memories of the previous night returned to her, and a bright red blush took over her face. Once again, she was thankful for the mask she wore, and proceeded to get out of the bed.

Once she was, she bowed to Naruto. "My apologies for sharing your bed. I was guarding you throughout the night, and eventually became tired." She said to him before quickly stepping out of the room.

While Naruto didn't know much about the masked woman, he did know that her voice was at least two octaves higher than it was the day before, and wondered what she was thinking when she left the room.

In the back of his head, Naruto could hear deep laughter. He was sure that it wasn't himself, as he had never heard such a deep and powerful laugh before, and it scared him mildly.

Elsewhere, Mei sighed as she thought about how things were going to go. She knew she would have to have Naruto retrained. As right now, without his memories, he useless to the cause without his memories and knowledge of jutsu and tactics. She had been informed that he was good, but was lacking in several areas. She knew that with this opportunity, she could have Naruto trained to be a much better ninja than he was before.

"Naruto's still in there. At his core, he's still the hyperactive knucklehead that changed a country's future." Zabuza spoke up, appearing behind Mei. "He might not have his memories, but I know that it won't stop him from giving some money to every beggar on every street. It's who he is."

Mei smiled, "I sure he is, but until he gets his memories back, he needs to be retrained. Any ideas on what we should teach him?" she asked.

Zabuza smiled, "Well, I could teach him kenjutsu and the Silent Killing techniques," he said.

Mei sighed, "We should ask Anko if she could help, you told me he could use Shadow Clones. If he could relearn it, that would be very helpful for the cause. More so if Anko knows it too, as then she could teach it to us, making it a new high level jutsu for future Kirin in." she said, smiling as she finished speaking.

Zabuza nodded, "You have a point, but at the same time you're off. With how fast that kid was pulling out shadow clones, it seems like he could make them in his sleep. It's all muscle memory to him. While he can't remember the jutsu, his body does. He'll know the hand seals. It makes our job just a bit easier as well. More so because of a little bonus to that jutsu." The masked ninja said with a smirk, knowing a little bit about the jutsu despite not having a sufficient amount of chakra to properly use it himself.

Zabuza stepped around Mei and began to walk down one of the hallways. "Let's get going to the camp. As much as I like staying here, we should get moving. I brought a few things with me to give to the kid when we get there. Ao and the Demon bothers should already be clearing a path for us." He said as he continued to walk, getting Mei to walk with him to the entrance of the hideout where they would meet up with Anko, Yuki Onna, and Naruto.

The group soon met up at the entrance and sealed the hideout again, making sure that only Zabuza and his huge ass sword can get inside. Once the hideout was locked up, the group moved back into rebellion territory to get going to the main camp of the rebellion.

**Hello once again everybody! Pyro and Ogre coming at you with another chapter of Kiri's Ice Fox! I guess I don't really have much to say about this chapter, other than the next few chapters will be like the prologue/introduction arc, getting everything set for Naruto's actual life in Kiri. While there will be progress and development for the characters, it's mainly all just establishing them at the moment. Since I have nothing else to say, I'm going to let Ogre have a few words.**

**Yes, well, I have to say, I hope everyone enjoys what me and Pyro have made between Raising a Fox, and Ice Fox of Kiri together, after all, we spent weeks coming up with material for DOZENS of chapters, we just need to find the right moments to use them for either or both stories, like the Black Villages. Which we will explain in greater detail in later chapters, however, tell us what you think of the Black Villages idea in reviews.**

**We hope that you all like this chapter, and remember to review, it helps to encourage us get the chapters out faster! :)**

**Until next time!**


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